Dutch general election - September 2012

[Antonio the Sixth]

The Dutch's habit of displaying poll results in number of seats instead of in % of votes is quite confusing.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Essentially the PvdA hasn't been sure whether it's a poacher or a gamekeeper and this has been quite, quite obvious.

The Dutch's habit of displaying poll results in number of seats instead of in % of votes is quite confusing.

They do the same in Israel, and for the same reason. It actually makes sense.

I know, but it takes a few time to get used to it.

[Antonio the Sixth]

...and Obama is the candidate of the Slavist party. Of course.

[Antonio the Sixth]

SP+PvDA+GL+D66.  Are either of those realistic or will it likely be a mixed coalition.

Would D66 go into coalition with the left parties? I'd imagine them as more likely joining a VVD-led coalition.

The Dutch left has, AFAIK, never polled above 50%. If D66 were unwilling to coalize with PvdA&co, they would never ever come to power.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Hasn't Italy had some governments led by people from successor parties to the Communist Party of Italy?

Yes, but the PCI became almost Social Democratic in the end, no more left wing than PS in France British Labour/German SPD. It was Euro-communist from the late 60s and then became more and more moderate. So thats not really remarkable.

Fixed.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Meh, that's sad. Not that I had much hopes, but you never know...

[Antonio the Sixth]

Polling stations are open tomorrow between 0730 and 2100, except for the Caribbean islands of Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius, where the polling stations open and close 6 hours later.

Exit polls will be published immediately after 2100, first results around 2200, more or less final results around 0100 (while the polls in the Caribbean are still open...).

This is the weirdest way of counting hours I've ever seen. Is that how you do in Netherlands ?

[Antonio the Sixth]

Ah, I see. The "0" preceding single-digit hours is also quite unusual I think.

[Antonio the Sixth]

This is an amazing work, nimh, very well done. Welcome to the forum, BTW.

Anyways, are the results about to come up ? It's 9 PM CEST now.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Any link to live results ?

[Antonio the Sixth]

http://nos.nl/nieuws/live/politiek24/

Results will be here.

Thanks, but I was thinking more at real-time updated results, not a TV livestream. I can't understand Dutch.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Ah, thanks.

[Antonio the Sixth]

When will actual results start coming up ?

[Antonio the Sixth]

When will actual results start coming up ?

[Antonio the Sixth]

3 municipalities, over one hour after polls have closed... Gosh, that takes time.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Well, I have to leave in about 40 m, so I hope in the meantime something more consistent will come...

[Antonio the Sixth]

I see... Well, this seems even worse than US elections. I pity those who are in Europe right now.

[Antonio the Sixth]

So, with 63% counted, it's :

VVD : 40 (+9)
PvdA : 39 (+9)
PVV : 15 (-9)
SP : 15 (NC)
CDA : 13 (-8)
D66 : 12 (+2)
CU : 5 (NC)
GL : 3 (-7)

That's... interesting. The SP result is a huge disappointment, and the left overall seems to be underperforming a bit. The PVV's debacle however is quite rejoicing, and it's fun to see the CDA fall into irrelevancy after decades of political prominence. And at least, there is still a tiny chance that PvdA overtakes VVD (though I wouldn't bet on it). Oh, can someone explain me what happened to GroenLinks ?

Huge improvement compared to the previous parliament, anyways.

[Antonio the Sixth]

The SP result is a huge disappointment.

You have changed your oppinion about the European Union Antonio?

Is the SP really anti-EU, or just anti-austerity? I know people love to mistake the latter for the former (which is especially ridiculous since austerity is what is actually killing EU), but I admit I don't know their stances very well. Anyways, I think that, in countries like Netherlands where mainstream left parties have abandoned 90% of left-wing stances, having a strong radical left in parliament can be useful as a pressure to remind these parties why people vote for them. Same reason why I hope Die Linke polls high in Germany.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Is the SP really anti-EU, or just anti-austerity?

They're Eurosceptic, but not anti-EU. They don't want to leave the Euro, like Wilders, though they were against its introduction. They don't want to leave the EU. But they're opposed to delegating any further authorities to Brussels. This sets them apart from the fairly Euro-friendly Labour Party and the passionately Euro-friendly Democrats and Green Left.

I see. I'm not a fan of these views, but I think the advantages of a strong SP would still outweigh these flaws.

Anyways, VVD leads PvdA by 1.4, so I guess we can call it.

[Antonio the Sixth]

You did an amazing job, nimh. Thank you for your very informative posts.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Ooooh ... talking of the Green Left, they just got a fourth seat! Latest calculation, taking into account the "lijstverbinding" between PvdA, GL and SP, gives GL an extra seat and the PvdA a seat less (so 38).

What's the "lijstverbinding" ? Is it some kind of list linking within coalitions ? I thought the Dutch system was absolute PR.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I see. Well, that's good that the left wing parties allied together, though it's sad to see PvdA lose another seat, especially to GL.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Votematch results : SP > PVV (LOL) > PvdA > GL > CDA > CU > D66 > SGP > VVD

Weird results. I had some trouble understanding the meaning of some questions, though.